I found the talk on Sunday really hard to write. The topic of the cost of following Jesus on the one hand seems alien to us here in Ireland as we don’t face death/arrest/imprisonment like others around the world and on the other hand surely there is some cost for me. So I wonder – is it realising as a Christian that in following Jesus I am going to face rejection, ridicule from others? I think this is a realistic possibility and in the past I have lost friends or at least talking about my faith has been a conversation stopper on many occasions.

But then there is the concept of idols, those things that are good in their own right but when I make them into ultimate things they become idols. Things that I look to or worship before God – family, relationships, a job… Sometimes I ask, is urban junction an idol for me?  Do I want to see it grow etc over my desire to simply worship God and be in relationship with Him?

Are there things in your life that you spend more time/ money/ headspace on than you do Jesus? What are the costs for you? What are the things that you need to lower down in the order of your life. We may not face death here in Ireland but when I hear about the 100,000 people dying every year for their faith I wonder, are my excuses not to follow Jesus regardless of the cost just pathetic?

When I stand before Jesus and realise that I am fully known and loved, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, brought into a new relationship, then any slight inconvenience in my life surely fades into insignificance as I embrace He who rescues. But I need to remind myself regularly of who He is, who I am and where I stand.